'50/50' is a 100 percent quality film

Release: September 30, 2011

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Adam), Seth Rogen (Kyle), Anna Kendrick (Katherine), Bryce Dallas Howard (Rachael)

Director: Jonathan Levine

Run Time: 1 hour 39 minutes     Rated: R

A film about a man with cancer is not something one would automatically think to find humor in, but with 50/50 not only is there humor but also heartfelt story telling in equal parts.

50/50 stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam, a 27-year-old man that is diagnosed with a form of cancer that has a 50% survivability rate.

After the diagnosis, the film picks up steam, presenting the audience with the journey Adam will make through the highs and lows of living with cancer.

There are obviously more lows than highs, but the lows are presented in such a way as to be respectful of the struggle while also finding the lighter side of it.

A perfect example of how this works is found in Adam's first chemotherapy  treatment. He makes friends while undergoing the treatment , and they offer him some strong pot brownies. The light side of this is that he's higher than a kite walking out of the treatment.

The struggle comes later for Adam, when the effect of the treatment is clear when he becomes very sick. This feels like a perfect balance, and the best part is that this balance is maintained throughout the film.

Everything in 50/50 feels very personal, like every struggle is addressed with care and balance, and that I think is due to the writer of the film Will Reiser who battled and recovered from cancer and for whom the character of Adam is based.

Writing the film can only get you so far, because you need someone to deliver the performance. Gordon-Levitt delivers a fantastic performance that's engaging, funny and heartfelt.

Essentially he is the right man for the job.

It's one of those performances that has an audience seeing the actor at first, but as the film goes on the actor becomes the character. By the end of this film you feel for Adam and you don't see Gordon-Levitt anymore, making this a masterful performance.

That's not to say that the rest of the cast doesn't do a great job too.

The most notable performance of the supporting cast is Anna Kendrick as the therapist trying to help Adam cope with what he's going through in his life. Kendrick and Gordon-Levitt have a really nice chemistry together, that is delightful and slightly unexpected.

What is completely expected walking into this film is Seth Rogen's character being the loud everyman stoner, that is named Kyle in this case. Kyle is Adam's best friend, and that's really all that separates this character from the others he's played in the past.

If only he could have been a little different, I mean does he always need to be a stoner? Even with the repetitious nature of the role, it still works out, and I admit that even if it is a little predictable, Rogen is pretty solid in that type of role.

But then, generally speaking, 50/50 is a solid film with quality acting and a great balance of humor and heartfelt storytelling that makes for an unexpectedly great motion picture.

Grade: A-